Man is arrested for an alleged DUI, later denies driving

POSTED:November 7, 2007 5:00 a.m.

DUI

Oct. 13 – During a security check on Oak Hill Cemetery, a deputy saw a man pull off the roadway and begin relieving himself in plain view. The deputy asked the man for identification and he produced a military ID. The deputy reportedly noticed the man was unsteady on his feet and slurring when he spoke. When questioned about having a driver’s license, the man said he had just received a DUI and that he didn’t need another one, the report said.

The deputy asked if the man had been drinking, and he answered "too much," the report said.

The man "then made the spontaneous utterance that his friends had left him earlier in the evening. (The man) began to get real nervous and could not complete come of his sentences," the report said. The man repeatedly said he could not get another DUI and then called an unknown female, asking her to come get him.

The deputy told the man to hang up the phone and asked if he would take a field sobriety test. The man complied, and had a BAC of 0.209, the report said. During a search of the man’s vehicle, the deputy allegedly found an alcoholic beverage, "due to the strong odor coming from inside of it. Also in the front passenger seat were several doughnuts that were scattered but were not crushed," the report said.

The man was charged with a DUI and for having an open container and public indecency. The man allegedly became belligerent at that point, saying he wasn’t the one driving and had only been sitting in the passenger seat - where the officer had noted donuts, which would've been crushed if a person had been sitting there. The deputy also noted he had seen the vehicle from the time it drove by until it pulled over and the man exited the driver’s seat.

Disorderly conduct

Oct. 7 – Police were dispatched to Country Side Drive in Ellabell, where they arrived to find a number of people fighting and yelling outside. One said he thought his foot and/or leg were broken, so EMS was called. The man said he and his family were living with another family, and the head of the host family had been drinking all day and had passed out in the home.

The complainant said he went inside and woke the man up, because someone in the family had damaged his vehicle, the report said. The man allegedly become very angry and began pushing the complainant until the complainant finally hit the man in the eye. At that point, the offender knocked the complainant to the ground and began jumping on him, possibly breaking the man’s leg, the report said. The offender allegedly grabbed a 4x4 to hit him with, but the complainant’s brother pulled them apart.

When the deputy questioned the alleged offender, the man reportedly had a strong odor of alcohol emanating from him, and was slurring and unsteady on his feet.

He was checked out by the EMTs and told the deputy the complainant had verbally abused one of his children and this resulted in him pushing the complainant. The man did admit he could have broken the complainant’s leg during the altercation, and he was told he was under arrest for disorderly conduct and taken to the Sheriff’s complex. The complainant said he did not want to press charges.

Aggravated assault

Oct 7 – An Ellabell woman reported another woman who allegedly approached her outside a friend’s house, claiming she had a knife, and made a punching motion twice at her chin. The woman said she believed the offender was holding two knives, one in each hand, but she wasn’t certain due to the fact that it was nighttime.

After the assault, the woman said she ran into her friend’s home, and later noticed the offender scratched both sides of her 2002 Toyota Celica with an unknown instrument. She said she believed it was the knife, and she was unsure whether or not there was any further damage. The woman went to the hospital, where she said she received 30 stitches on her chin, the report said. The woman went to the station after leaving the ER to make the report, which was turned over to the detective’s office.

Damage to property

Oct. 5 – A Pembroke woman reported damage to her and her daughter’s 2005 Dodge Van. The woman said her and her daughter have co-ownership of the vehicle, which has not run since a fire destroyed the daughter’s home a few weeks prior. The woman said she brought the vehicle to a Chrysler dealership in Claxton for repairs, and was told that somehow, the vehicle’s fuel tank had filled with water, which had made its way into the fuel injection and the engine. The water had to have been put into the vehicle intentionally, the report said. The woman said she didn’t know of anyone who would want to destroy her vehicle.

Matter of record

Oct. 9 – A Richmond Hill resident said her neighbor, on Frye Lane in Richmond Hill, was pumping water from his yard into the ditch that runs along her driveway. The woman said the resulting water was causing flooding of her driveway, so she placed sandbags to plug the intersection and stop the flow of water, the report said. The woman then attempted to pump the water from her driveway into the same ditch. She said that later, her neighbor removed the sandbags to re-allow the water flow from his yard, and in turn, flooded her driveway again, the report said.

Harassing communication

Oct. 10 – A woman said her ex-boyfriend had called her roughly five times that day, and the last time he called, he allegedly told her he had paid the guy at the cellular company $20 for her new phone number. The report said he had not yet called the cell phone but did have the number. The woman said she called the cellular company and confronted them about the incident; they denied involvement in the matter. The deputy explained the procedures for harassing communications and told her to keep a log of all phone calls received from her ex-boyfriend.

Underage consumption

Oct. 14 – Several juveniles were reported fighting on Oak Point Drive, several of which fled upon police arrival. A foot chase located all of them, lying on their stomachs in different locations in the woods. Several voluntarily got up and exited the woods, others attempted to remain hidden and reportedly had to be physically moved. After a short field interview, all admitted to consuming alcohol and were placed under arrest.

A search of one of the juvenile’s vehicles found a plastic bag of green leafy substance thought to be marijuana, a case of 12-ounce Miller Lite beers, a pipe in the passenger side door area with what appeared to be burnt marijuana in it and another bag in the passenger floor board of what appeared to be marijuana. All six boys were transported to the jail for processing.

Theft by taking

Oct. 14 – While driving on I-95 North at the Belfast Siding Overpass, a man said he pulled over with a flat tire on his trailer. The man said he unloaded his lawn mower from the trailer and parked it on the tree line to help conceal it, taking the keys to the mower with him. He said he unhooked the trailer from his vehicle and drove to Wal-Mart on Hwy. 17 to buy a new tire and rim for the trailer. Upon returning, about 30 minutes later, the man said both the mower and trailer were missing. The estimated value of both items is $8,000.